iPhone 17 Pro Max Anyone else regret getting Cosmic Orange 17 Pro/Pro Max?

[Anthony T]

So as a disclaimer, I suffer from OCD. So I tend to obsess/fixate on things that typically wouldn't be a huge deal to most "normal" people. That said, I had a 13 Pro Max when the 17s came out back in the fall. I had newer iPhones but sold them and bought a 13 PM on OfferUp that was brand new for $500 in December 2024 because I was trying to save money and not have phone payment.

I bought a Deep Blue 17 Pro Max with the intent of selling my 13 PM. The lightning port on my 13 Pro Max broke, so I paid $125 to have it fixed and returned my Deep Blue Pro Max. Not long after, the power button on my 13 PM broke on me. I decided it was time to finally upgrade for good. When I went back to the nearest Apple Store to me that had 17 PMs in stock, the only options were silver and orange. I went with the Cosmic Orange thinking silver was too bland/boring.

I'm now sick of the orange. I wish I had gotten silver. It goes with essentially any color case and I just feel like having an orange phone is kind of absurd lol. I know the argument is "put a case on it" but you still see a good portion of the back of the phone on the Pro models with most cases and you can still see it on mine (I have the Torras Q3 Air case).

I recently bought a 17 Pro in silver and was going to sell my orange 17 PM but then realized I couldn't go back to the smaller screen permanently. But now there is a 17 PM in silver in stock not too far from me and it's tempting not to buy it and sell my orange one. I got offers for $1100 for my orange 17 PM and a new one from the store would cost a little over $1300 after taxes here in NY. I'm not sure if it's worth paying over $200 to change the color of my phone or if I should just suck it up and wait to see what the new models are like in the fall.

Looking for some rational people's opinions here and just curious if anyone else felt the same about the Cosmic Orange after a while and ended up switching for a different color or even vice versa. I've just never been an orange guy...

 

[Hal~9000]

So as a disclaimer, I suffer from OCD. So I tend to obsess/fixate on things that typically wouldn't be a huge deal to most "normal" people. That said, I had a 13 Pro Max when the 17s came out back in the fall. I had newer iPhones but sold them and bought a 13 PM on OfferUp that was brand new for $500 in December 2024 because I was trying to save money and not have phone payment.

I bought a Deep Blue 17 Pro Max with the intent of selling my 13 PM. The lightning port on my 13 Pro Max broke, so I paid $125 to have it fixed and returned my Deep Blue Pro Max. Not long after, the power button on my 13 PM broke on me. I decided it was time to finally upgrade for good. When I went back to the nearest Apple Store to me that had 17 PMs in stock, the only options were silver and orange. I went with the Cosmic Orange thinking silver was too bland/boring.

I'm now sick of the orange. I wish I had gotten silver. It goes with essentially any color case and I just feel like having an orange phone is kind of absurd lol. I know the argument is "put a case on it" but you still see a good portion of the back of the phone on the Pro models with most cases and you can still see it on mine (I have the Torras Q3 Air case).

I recently bought a 17 Pro in silver and was going to sell my orange 17 PM but then realized I couldn't go back to the smaller screen permanently. But now there is a 17 PM in silver in stock not too far from me and it's tempting not to buy it and sell my orange one. I got offers for $1100 for my orange 17 PM and a new one from the store would cost a little over $1300 after taxes here in NY. I'm not sure if it's worth paying over $200 to change the color of my phone or if I should just suck it up and wait to see what the new models are like in the fall.

Looking for some rational people's opinions here and just curious if anyone else felt the same about the Cosmic Orange after a while and ended up switching for a different color or even vice versa. I've just never been an orange guy...

I kinda went through a similar journey. Pre-ordered the orange 17PM, changed my mind and went with the blue 17PM, before realizing I wanted the more standard looking silver 17PM 😄

I’ve had the silver now since October, have no regrets, and plan to keep it 4-5 years. Not only does it go fantastic with any case and doesn’t scream “look at me! look how bright I am!”, but in case I ever get an unexpected scratch on the aluminum body underneath looks much closer to the silver color than the anodized orange or blue 😬

As far as whether or not to buy again or stick with what you have, I guess you could always get a case that covers the camera plateau or cover it up completely with a skin / wrap? 🤔

 

[HouseLannister]

I get that. I returned the cosmic orange because every case I found was more of an alpine orange that didn't quite look right against apple's shade. I settled on the 17PM in blue and find that almost any blue case looks fine. Some are a shade darker or lighter, but it just looks much better than mixing two different shades of orange. And there are a lot more blue case options still since that was already a popular color before the 17. Never considered the silver.

That said, I would still buy a black phone if it was available because every case brand has a black case and that is just hard to mess up.

 

[Momof2.1107]

At first when Apple announced the 3 colors, I was disappointed that Apple didn’t announce a gold color. I’m used to ordering the newest color to make my phone feel fresh. Orange was a thought for 5 minutes but then I remembered that I would regret it soon like I did the blue titanium 15PM, so I settled with the silver 17PM and I do not regret my decision. I use my phone caseless 99% of the time and I love it. I can always put a skin on it if I feel like I want to change the color up.

 

[Tsepz]

So as a disclaimer, I suffer from OCD. So I tend to obsess/fixate on things that typically wouldn't be a huge deal to most "normal" people. That said, I had a 13 Pro Max when the 17s came out back in the fall. I had newer iPhones but sold them and bought a 13 PM on OfferUp that was brand new for $500 in December 2024 because I was trying to save money and not have phone payment.

I bought a Deep Blue 17 Pro Max with the intent of selling my 13 PM. The lightning port on my 13 Pro Max broke, so I paid $125 to have it fixed and returned my Deep Blue Pro Max. Not long after, the power button on my 13 PM broke on me. I decided it was time to finally upgrade for good. When I went back to the nearest Apple Store to me that had 17 PMs in stock, the only options were silver and orange. I went with the Cosmic Orange thinking silver was too bland/boring.

I'm now sick of the orange. I wish I had gotten silver. It goes with essentially any color case and I just feel like having an orange phone is kind of absurd lol. I know the argument is "put a case on it" but you still see a good portion of the back of the phone on the Pro models with most cases and you can still see it on mine (I have the Torras Q3 Air case).

I recently bought a 17 Pro in silver and was going to sell my orange 17 PM but then realized I couldn't go back to the smaller screen permanently. But now there is a 17 PM in silver in stock not too far from me and it's tempting not to buy it and sell my orange one. I got offers for $1100 for my orange 17 PM and a new one from the store would cost a little over $1300 after taxes here in NY. I'm not sure if it's worth paying over $200 to change the color of my phone or if I should just suck it up and wait to see what the new models are like in the fall.

Looking for some rational people's opinions here and just curious if anyone else felt the same about the Cosmic Orange after a while and ended up switching for a different color or even vice versa. I've just never been an orange guy...

I got a Silver for this very reason, bright colours that are “in your face” get really annoying for me, so I totally get how you feel.
Personally I would say get that Silver or this will bother you more and more as you go.

 

[Macdctr]

I instantly regretted the Cosmic Orange color so I went with my Deep Blue 17 Pro instead. Never regretted my decision.

 

[Artemiz]

No regrets with my Orange 17P.

I always get the new color for the series but initially considered Blue. After watching the JerryRigEverything video though, I’ve settled on Orange. Any scratches would be more clearly visible on the Blue than the Orange.

 

[JPack]

Happens every year. Remember the ugly green and purple Pro colors of yesteryear?

Some people get special colors because it shouts “new phone.” But after a few months, common sense (or resale considerations) prevails which is silver or white.

 

[Artemiz]

Happens every year. Remember the ugly green and purple Pro colors of yesteryear?

Some people get special colors because it shouts “new phone.” But after a few months, common sense (or resale considerations) prevails which is silver or white.

That’s an interesting perspective.
People go for new colors when they don’t want to end up with the most common and boring (and safe) colors, including cars, like black and silver. The right shade of black is still cool and very pro, but silver just doesn’t have that. New colors are refreshing, hence the appeal.

Orange is not for everyone but I’ve never heard of anyone regretting their “new” color because “common sense” took over.

 

[JPack]

That’s an interesting perspective.
People go for new colors when they don’t want to end up with the most common and boring (and safe) colors, including cars, like black and silver. The right shade of black is still cool and very pro, but silver just doesn’t have that. New colors are refreshing, hence the appeal.

Orange is not for everyone but I’ve never heard of anyone regretting their “new” color because “common sense” took over.

The difference is, everyone has an iPhone, unlike sports cars.

People initially choose what appear to be unique colors. But it turns out everyone can get an orange, so the “unique” color becomes the common color. At that point, people ask themselves why they chose Cheetos orange, Army green, or Mystic purple instead of a rational color. Not to say everyone regrets it, but these regret posts show up every year if you’re here long enough.

 

[ssledoux]

Honestly, I decided to go with a pro max again shortly after downsizing from a 15 pm to a cosmic orange 17 pro. Just so happened my sister was needing to upgrade and bought my pro. I replaced it with a silver 17pm - I loved the orange at first, but, for me, it got old kinda quick.

 

[AnInanimateCarbonRod]

I'm the reverse. I agonized between Cosmic Orange and Deep Blue and went Deep Blue out of a worry that it would become a novelty that wore off.

Shortly after launch I wandered into the Apple Store while at the mall to see and immediately regretted my decision to look because I loved the colour the second I saw it. If I could have exchanged mine, I would have. Since I had already handed down my old iPhone my only option to do so would have been an in-store exchange but my store didn't get any more stock until after the return window passed.

Still kicking myself on that one.

 

[ayephoner]

I was also limited by store stock. All they had was orange 256gb. I don't mind the color (I actually bought an orange case too). I do regret not being patient and waiting for more storage. I'm almost out and I'm going to have to be very thoughtful with stuff moving forward. I hate being thoughtful!!!

I'll probably just back up all my photos and then delete them from my phone. But that's still a pain.

 

[ayephoner]

Case

This is the case I have. It is good despite being inexpensive and covers the top of the plateau. If you wanted to hide the orange, it would be a good option (obviously in a different color).

 

[DrWojtek]

You know, they carefully choose colors that are meant to get you hooked to buy them, but have you get sick of them shortly, making you want to upgrade next year. Why do you think they removed the black option in the first place? It lasts the longest.

 

[S.B.G]

No regrets at all.

I have a nice Spigeon clear case and the phone looks great.

A couple of people I work with happened to get the same Cosmic Orange iPhones too and they like it.

 

[Arctic Moose]

It’s just a phone. Does it even matter what color it is? 🤷

If the color can be seen from the front I always get black, but if it cannot I really could not care less.

 

[Tsepz]

Happens every year. Remember the ugly green and purple Pro colors of yesteryear?

Some people get special colors because it shouts “new phone.” But after a few months, common sense (or resale considerations) prevails which is silver or white.

This was me with the 11 Pro Max, I got it in Midnight Green, thoroughly enjoyed that iPhone and somewhat liked the colour but I always felt I should have gone Matte Space Grey or Matte Silver. I got it in Midnight Green because Covid lockdowns were incoming and there was limited supply of the other colours and could only find the storage I wanted (256GB at the time) in Midnight Green, about 2 weeks later we entered lockdown.

Every other iPhone/iPad/MacBook/Watch I have got is either Space Grey/Granite/Black Titanium or Silver/White Titanium.

With 17 Pro Max I knew I would dislike Orange, and I am very happy with Silver, I sorted of cheated though and got a grey case with orange accents which is all the orange/bright colours I like (I like them in small amounts) so the combo I have now is perfect for me:

 

[Spinarelo]

It’s just a phone. Does it even matter what color it is? 🤷

If the color can be seen from the front I always get black, but if it cannot I really could not care less.

Of course it matters, otherwise why would Apple even offer different color options?

 

[Tsepz]

It’s just a phone. Does it even matter what color it is? 🤷

If the color can be seen from the front I always get black, but if it cannot I really could not care less.

I mean a smartphone is one of those things/devices that many look at regularly throughout the day, most of us care what that looks like otherwise I doubt many of us would be on a tech enthusiast forum like MR.

 

[JoeG4]

I went with the Cosmic Orange thinking silver was too bland/boring.

I'm now sick of the orange. I wish I had gotten silver. It goes with essentially any color case and I just feel like having an orange phone is kind of absurd lol.

I went into this wanting a blue 17PM, but ended up with the choices of silver and orange. I was kinda rushed, because at the time the phones would sell out shortly after being listed as available for pickup from the apple store.........

The arguments you present are exactly why I decided to get the orange phone lol. Silver seemed the obvious choice, and this time I didn't want the obvious choice!

I'm currently using this translucent UAG pathfinder case, and IMHO all of the colors they offer the translucent version in work pretty well with the orange 17 pros. (I have the blue one myself!) THAT SAID, it's a loud "fun" case, not a sophisticated leather case.

I did have a fancy leather case, but after a few months it looked worn out and ugly, and kinda sad lol.

I think the orange 17 being "fun" demands a "fun" case. The torras air case should have been a decent fit in any color though! Honestly, the orange DOES MAKE IT REALLY HARD TO FIGURE OUT A CASE. (the pitaka ones look pretty sweet with the orange iphone though).

Choice aside, I think the silver 17 pro looks classy. To me it looks like it was designed by whoever designed the original Mac Mini and Apple TV with the silver frame and white top. Or the iPods or cinema displays from that era with the same silver aluminum and white plastic look.

 

[joshwithachance]

I regretted it less than a week after I got mine at launch, and the moment that feeling set in I immediately exchanged it for silver.

Haven’t looked back.

 

[awshucks]

Didn't happen with my iPhone, since I have a blue Air and the Air colors are very dull. Before that I had a white 15 Pro with no regrets, since I saw the white as classic.

However, I went from a silver Intel MBA to a gold M1 MBA, and am now tired of the half-gold, half-rose gold shade. The colorful stickers on the lid made it worse, so have removed most of them. I have OCD as well, but I am trying to make my laptop last a while because I don't want to buy a new one yet. If I did, though, I would get a midnight MBA.

 

[fatTribble]

I was excited for the Cosmic Orange when I first saw it.
I bought a Cosmic Orange PM.
Still love my Cosmic Orange.

 

[theorist9]

Was waiting for someone to make the requisite "Cosmic Orange is the New Black" comment. But since no one's stepped up I'll take one for the team.